Ray's finish capped a disappointing outing for the U.S. team, which finished fourth and failed to capture any individual medals. Coupled with the men's team's medal-less Games, it marked the first time the United States had failed to medal in gymnastics since 1972.

''The whole experience isn't everything I hoped it would be,'' Ray said that night.

Six months later, Ray is a freshman at the University of Michigan and aiming for a title at the NCAA Championships. Unlike her Olympic experience, Ray's first year of college has been everything she hoped it would be.

''The team has just been wonderful,'' said Ray, who was the captain of the U.S. team.

Ray is one of three gymnasts from the 2000 U.S. Olympic team in Athens this week. UCLA lured Kristen Maloney and Jamie Dantzscher. The adjustment from elite international gymnastics to the highest level of collegiate gymnastics took some time for all three.

''It's no secret they came off a pretty negative experience,'' UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field said. ''The first month or so, they were having a real problem doing gymnastics. From the moment they put on the leotard, there was a bad connotation.''

Elite gymnasts are known for the long hours they spend in the gym training for their sport, but last year's Olympics went a step further as American coach Bela Karolyi installed monthly training camps for the team's gymnasts.

UCLA's Kristen Maloney

''It was kind of like we were sick of gymnastics,'' said Maloney, who said she is enjoying collegiate gymnastics and ''just being normal again.''

Kondos Field, who said she preaches to her gymnasts they have the power to choose how they react to things, could tell when her gymnasts began to feel comfortable with their new environment. For Dantzscher, it was one day in February.

''Jamie Dantzscher came into training a totally different person,'' Kondos Field said. ''She said, 'Coach Val, I'm choosing to look at this differently.' "

The biggest change for the trio has been the team aspect. For the first 10-plus years of their careers, they were trained to think almost exclusively of themselves, but suddenly in collegiate gymnastics, everything they did affected their team.

''It took me a little while to learn to rely on my teammates,'' Ray said.

Kondos Field said competing ''with a group of people is totally different.''

All three gymnasts appear comfortable now and are having positive impacts on their teams. Dantzscher is the top-ranked collegian in the floor exercise and uneven bars, and Maloney is No. 4 nationally on the balance beam. Ray is No. 12 in the all-around, No. 9 on the uneven bars and No. 12 in the floor exercise.

UCLA's Jamie Dantzscher

Ray and Maloney expect the NCAA Championships to be different from their Olympic experience.

''There's definitely still pressure, but it's in a totally different way,'' Ray said. ''It's not just for me, it's for the whole team. I don't think of (NCAAs) as being lower (than the Olympics), I just think of it as being different.''

Ray, Dantzscher and Maloney aren't the only NCAA competitors with international experience. Georgia's Eileen Diaz was on the Puerto Rico Olympic team in 1996, and UCLA's Yvonne Tousek is a two-time Canadian Olympian.

Regardless of the outcome this week, Ray, Dantzscher and Maloney figure to leave Athens in a better frame of mind than they left Sydney six months ago.

''It's not as stressful as the Olympics,'' Maloney said. "Before it was all for yourself and now it's all for the team. Yeah, the Olympics are a totally different level than anything else, but for me, competing as a team is a lot more fun.''

This article published in the Athens Daily News on Thursday, April 19, 2001.